Leodus
Leodus is JGREAD's primary RPC and main protagonist in the Roleplay. He is the most morally complex character in the RP, as he believes "good" and "evil" do not ultimately exist, and believes his duty to maintain Chima's elemental Balance is beyond the conflict between the Fire and Ice tribes. Leodus is the King of the Leopard Tribe, and the second wizard to exist in Chima. Biography Early Life Prince Leodus grew up in an unknown Leopard HQ in Chima's inland. Soon after Leodus became King, he led his tribe to what he would name the Valley of Balance, in order to escape the constant wars and politics of Chima. However, this location was also fitting for the Leopards, as they were the keepers of the elemental Balance, and the valley sat right on the line between Chima's mostly cold north and mostly warm south. At some point, Leodus got a hold of the complete magic teachings of Malgus, in The Iron Mountains. Leodus taught himself the magic, becoming Chima's second wizard in existence. He then appointed Druids, who he taught limited magic (mostly healing magic), as the collective 4ics of the Leopard Tribe. Leodus eventually befriended the Vulture leader of the time, a King who'd forged a magic sword that had basic control of the element of ice. This began an alliance between the Leopards and Vultures. Despite not being involved in the Lions' war with the Sabertooth Tigers (which resulted in the Second Great Illumination), Leodus and the Leopards found and captured a lone Sabertooth named Senix, the third of Chima's line of wizards (having recovered the magic teachings of the sorceress Sabradia, who'd been trained the witch Maulryene, who'd also trained Malgus), relatively soon after that war. Leodus sentenced Senix to Hunter Prison on the northwest coast. When the Vulture Plague began to wipe out the original Vulture Tribe some time later, the Vulture leader flew to the Leopards' Golden City in order to ask for help from the Leopards. As Leodus saw his friend approaching, he came out of the city to meet the Vulture, only for his friend to suddenly be tackled and killed from behind by Icestrike. Icestrike escaped before Leodus could avenge his friend. Because of the location of the assassination, Vamprah and the other Vultures suspected the Leopards of killing the Vulture leader, and as such, the Vultures didn't ask the Leopards to help them during the Plague (as the leader was killed before being able to tell Leodus of the Plague, the Leopards subsequently weren't aware of the disease until it was too late). Soon after, the Vultures were nearly wiped out by the plague, thus ending the alliance between the Vultures and Leopards. Icebear—Leopard War In the year 125 BR, Vamprah agreed to help Icestrike and his rogue faction of bears fight the Leopard Tribe, so that both he and Icestrike would get revenge on who they thought were villainous. So began what was later known as the Leopard—Ice Hunter War. Despite being outnumbered, the Leopards won the war in 122 BR due to the fire chi and vehicles given to them by their allies, the Phoenix and Tigers, respectively. Leodus then had to make the difficult decision to exile the entire Icebear Tribe and Brotherhood of Vultures to the Arctic Northern Regions in order to prevent them from being able to take a substantial amount of chi and fire chi (as those two were the only tribes who knew of the existence of fire chi at that time), and possibly takeover Chima. Because the Leopards cursed those southern species to the cold regions, the curse transformed the Vultures and Icebears into Ice Hunters as a result, like the Sabertooth Tigers and Mammoths centuries before, in order to maintain the balance of Fire in the south and Ice in the north. Leodus' guilt that he was responsible for the damnation of those tribes led him to be extremely reluctant to ever recount the events of the war. Following the war (which had brought about the destruction of the Leopard Fleet at the hands of the Icebear fleet on The West Sea), Leodus ordered a former Leopard Grand Admiral to destroy the Icebear Shipbuilding Device (though instead, the Admiral secretly hid the device on what would someday be known as Bat Island). His magic having doubled during the war, Leodus wrote The Prophecy of Black Mountain in order to create an invisible forcefeild around the Valley of Balance, since the top half of the valley was in the Arctic North where their enemies were. Decades of Peace Leodus continued leading the Leopard Tribe, which entered into a very long age of peace after the Leopard—Ice Hunter War, due to its purposeful isolation from the wars and politics in the south. Because he was a wizard, Leodus lived well past 100 years of age and retained a youthful appearance and physical state. In the year 2 BR, Leodus was informed by his scouts that a Lion had been discovered and saved on the freezing peaks of the Iron Mountains. Leodus met with the lion, Lycor, and explained that the Leopard search parties rescued any dying beings they found in the mountains. Lycor explained that he'd been exiled from his tribe for a crime someone framed him for, and Leodus promised to help him find the only evidence he had, in the form of a security camera lost in the mountains. Over the course of the year, Leodus sent out many search parties to look for the camera, and formed a friendship with Lycor, who was temporarily living in the Golden City. Leodus was happy to share the Leopard Tribe's history with Lycor, except for the Icebear—Leopard War. The search parties eventually found and fixed the camera by the end of the year. After thawing out the camera with fire chi and watching the footage of Lyrix stealing the golden chi orb, Leodus bid farewell to Lycor, and asked him not to reveal the existence of the Leopard Tribe. Relations with the Tigers At the time of the Roleplay, the isolated Leopards were unaffected by the Chima Civil War and the Chima Alliance—Crawler Empire War in the south, and continued to maintain Elemental Balance. Leodus didn't care that the Chi falls of Cavora had been drained, as he knew the Phoenix would restore the falls at some point. When a crippled lion named Leonard came to the Valley of Balance from the Arctic, the Leopards took him, helping him in their hospitals. Leonard remained in the city, and swore service to the Leopard King, so Leodus revealed the existence of the Leopard Druids to him, and they immediately healed the lion of his wounds. Eventually, Leodus was strolling through the Golden halls in deep thought when he heard two extremely loud roars from the Tigers' neighboring hidden territory in the Iron Mountains, and sensed a disturbance. He took an escort of Leopard Mobile Commands and speedorz to the Tiger HQ, and asked the Tigers what happened. He did not receive a warm reception, as the Tigers blamed Leodus and the Leopards for the previous war that'd ravaged the Iron Mountains over a hundred years ago. They said as much, leading Leodus to return frustrated to the Valley of Balance. A Leopard guard asked Leodus if the meeting went well, and Leodus informed him that it did not, before returning to his throne room. Return of the Ice Hunters Soon after, Leodus and the leopards felt a disturbance in the Balance, realizing at once that the curse had been lifted from the Ice Hunters, and they were crossing over into the south. Leodus looked through a telescope from his balcony and saw Icestrike's Ultimate Glacier emerging from the northwest sea nearby. Leodus reassured the other leopards that their enemies wouldn't be able to cross into the valley, as it was protected by the Prophecy of Black Mountain, so Leodus focused on figuring out how the Ice Hunters' curse had been broken. He soon came to the conclusion that the mammoth mages must've been released from their icy tome by the other Hunters, allowing them to break the curse with magic. Despite not having time to send an army to defend Black Mountain, Leodus was able to send two scouts to the Outlands to warn any sentient beings who might live in or around the mountain. Soon, the invisible forcefeild around the Valley of Balance abruptly fell, and Leodus immediately had the Golden City's defenses armed. The two scouts returned to the city, and informed him that the Bats, now calling it Black Fang Mountain, had heeded their warning, but still fell to the Icebears' attack. As the Ultimate Glacier slowly approached the valley from the eastern Iron Mountains, Lycor returned to the city. After being let in Leodus' throne room, Lycor told him that the Vultures had recently frozen both Chima Alliance and Crawler Empire forces in the Iron Mountains. Lycor then demanded that Leodus finally tell him about the Leopard—Ice Hunter War, so the inlanders and outlanders would have information on how to combat this threat. Leodus agreed to tell him the history of the war, after which Leodus explained his philosophies to Lycor, and revealed that the Leopards would've allied with the Ice Hunters against the Fire Tribes if the Hunters were the ones trying to maintain Chima's balance. Now understanding, Lycor promised to help Leodus fight the Icebears once he'd earned fire chi from the Phoenix, before departing to Scorpion Cavern Castle. Fire—Ice War The Icebears, now with actual Ice powers as a result of the curse, attacked the Valley of Balance during Leodus' conversation with Lycor, but the Leopards' denfense kept them from making it to the city. Just before Lycor left, Titus arrived in the castle to repair the Tigers' relations with the Leopards. Leodus agreed to ally with the Fire Tribes again, if the Tigers helped them in this battle. Titus agreed and returned to the Tiger City, as some Vulture and Sabertooth forces arrived to reinforce the Icebears' assault. As the Tigers arrived to fight with the Leopards, Leodus ran into Captain Lurade Lestrade Leman on his way down a staircase in the castle, and after ordering him to take the 212th Leopard Battalion to attack the Sabertooths to the east of the Valley, Leodus led his army into the valley on his speedor. After participating in the battle and freeing frozen Tigers and Leopards for a while, Leodus was ambushed by the forces of Senix, who'd escaped Hunter Prison. Senix and Leodus knocked each other off their speedorz, and the two wizards engaged in a powered up duel. Having the advantage of utilizing both elements, Leodus eventually won the duel and captured Senix in a fire chi powered net. Confrontation in the Throne Room After taking Senix to the city, Leodus brought him into his throne room and the told his guards to stay outside the room. Leodus then released Senix, sat on his throne, and revealed that during the duel, he'd figured out Senix' true identity: Tenebrae, the first and only Tiger Emperor, from almost a thousand years ago. Senix told Leodus that Tenebrae was figuratively dead, and that in his current identity, he was loyal to the Kingdom of the Sabertoothes. However, because of his philosophy towards the labels of "good" and "evil", Leodus attempted to recruit Tenebrae/Senix, offering him a chance to leave the Sabertooth Tribe and join the Leopards. Leodus explained that together, the two Fire and Ice wizards could bring Balance back to Chima, but Senix rejected the offer, and instead attempted to kill Leodus and take his body in order to lead a tribe once more. Another duel began, only for it to be interrupted by a Vulture Sky Scavenger jet crashing into the throne room, knocking Senix and Leodus both unconscious. Senix woke up first and attempted to posses the comatose Leodus, but was attacked by the Leopard guards, who later revealed to Leodus that Senix and the vulture pilot had escaped in the detachable cockpit vehicle of the Sky Scavenger, only to be shot down over the Iron Mountains by the city's fire turrets. Assault on the Glacier Leodus powered up again and drove a Leopard Mobile Command from the city, leading the regrouped Leopards in one final charge to push the Ice Hunters out of the valley. They succeeded in pushing the Icebears out, before Leodus was radioed by Lycor, who explained that he'd earned fire chi, and requested the Leopards' help in rescuing the frozen inlanders and outlanders from Icestrike's Ultimate Glacier, which was now in the Iron Mountains again. Leodus left Leman and the other Leopard commanders in charge of the city's defense as he led two legions of leopards to attack the Glacier, which had been heavily damaged during the battle in the valley. As Lycor rescued the frozen Chimians in the lower levels, Leodus and Scorponok smashed through Icestrike's throne room, rescuing the high-ranking prisoners. After freeing Bliston and others from the throne room, Leodus blasted the enraged Icestrike through a wall, and led his leopard druids and knights into the lower levels to continue the massive rescue operation. However, the sheer amount of fire chi powered warriors and vehicles in the HQ caused the Glacier to melt and fall apart, scattering both the Fire and Ice forces throughout the Iron Mountains. Aftermath Ending up in the Arctic above the mountains, Leodus quickly regrouped half of his forces, while the other half began searching the Iron Mountains for the Chimians rescued from the Glacier. Bliston and the bats also regrouped in the Arctic, and Leodus gave the Bat King an orb of fire chi, knowing from the earlier battle that the bats must've earned fire chi. Bliston then flew off to destroy what remained of Icestrike's Glacier, while Leodus and his leopards began their journey back home to the Valley of Balance. Final Duels As they went southwest through the Iron Mountains, Leodus and the small leopard force were ambushed by Vamprah, who came to assassinate Leodus. Vamprah crashed his Sky Scavenger jet into the ground; as their fire chi had fizzled out by then, the other leopards there were frozen by the blast. Leodus, who's fire chi hadn't run out yet, dueled Vamprah, who he hadn't met face-to-face during the original Leopard—Ice Hunter War. Leodus revealed the truth to Vamprah, explaining that Icestrike had assassinated the previous Vulture leader, turned the Brotherhood of Vultures against the Leopard Tribe, and manipulated the vultures into allying with him, which eventually resulted in them being cursed and fused with ice. Quietly enraged at Icestrike, Vamprah, who was on a vow of silence, used sign language to plan a trap for Icestrike with Leodus. After recalling the Vulture forces from the valley and freeing the frozen Leopards in the Iron Mountains respectively, Vamprah and Leodus travelled to The Four Talon Towers. There, they faked a fight in Vamprah's throne room, allowing Vamprah to deceive Icestrike when he arrived, and cut the Icebear King's arm off with Leodus' sword. Vamprah and Leodus teamed up against Icestrike, but he proved a match for both of them, even with only one arm. The mobile HQ they were in suddenly exploded from beneath as it passed over the Outland Gate Bridge across The Gorge of Eternal Depth, on account of the unknown fire chi explosives placed on the bridge earlier by the Stinger Brotherhood. All three fighters escaped the crumbling HQ as it fell into the Gorge. Vamprah and Leodus made it back to the southern Great Desert, but struck down Icestrike into the explosions below as he tried to follow. The Empire of Balance To the gathered Vultures in the Great Desert, Vamprah revealed the truth that Leodus had revealed to him, and relinquished their alliance with the Ice Hunters. Vamprah and Leodus signed a peace treaty between the Brotherhood of Vultures and the Leopard Tribe. The Vultures then moved into the Golden City as the remaining Sabertooth forces retreated from the valley, and Leodus announced to the Leopards that they would form the Empire of Balance with their new allies, dedicated to fighting both the Fire and Ice tribes if necessary, in order to restore Elemental Balance to Chima. A silver throne for Vamprah was built next to Leodus' golden throne in the castle. A bodyguard group was formed to protect Vamprah and Leodus, called the Imperial Knights. The Knights were co-led by a vulture and the leopard named Longfang. After recovering from previous injuries in the Golden City's hospital, Lycor swore a life debt to Leodus, and joined the Imperial Knights. Soon after, Leodus sent Leonard south, to act as an Imperial spy within The Forgotten. Battle Plans Titus returned to the Golden City with the Tigers' army. Titus entered the throne room and asked Leodus what their next move should be in dealing with the Sabertoothes, and, possibly, the Mammoths. Leodus explained that they needed to keep the Ice Tribes out of the south to restore Balance, and he and Titus began debating on how they could prevent the Ice Hunters from returning to the south after pushing them back into the Arctic. Vamprah soon left the city, taking half of the Imperial Knights (including Longfang) and many Vulture and Leopard forces with him to the north in order to diplomatically confront bats that'd gone there. Leodus and Titus continued planning, and when Titus asked about the Phoenix joining the war, Leodus sent a messenger to the Phoenix Islands. Eventually, it was decided that Leodus would deal with the Sabertoothes in the Iron Mountains, and Titus would attack the Sabertoothes in the far south, who'd frozen the Gorillas and conquered their jungle. Vamprah, Longfang and the others who'd left then returned to the city, and Leodus sent Captain Leman with the Tigers, before departing himself. Battle of the Iron Mountains Leodus marched his Vulture and Leopard forces through the Iron Mountains until coming relatively near the Sabertoothes' camp. Standing with half of the Imperial Knights, including Longfang and Lycor, Leodus addressed the Sabertoothes with a loudhailer, explaining the Balance of the Elements to them, and giving the Ice Hunters a chance to leave on their own accord. When the sabertoothes refused to leave the south, Leodus attacked, dividing his army into three forces and surrounding Fort Sabran. Despite successfully breaking through the walls and into the base, the Imperial Knights urged their king to leave the area, since it had become a bomb zone; Forgotten air forces, now with fire chi, began bombarding Fort Sabran, regardless of leopard injuries. Leodus reluctantly departed from the ruins of the base with his knights, ordering a leopard commander to oversee the battle. Holding Council Returning to the Golden City, Leodus was told by Vamprah about events that'd happened north, involving the accidental killing of the Spider Queen, Severix Rax, explaining why the Arachnid Alliance had just declared war on the Empire of Balance. Leodus was then informed by Leopards that they had imprisoned a spider named Solrac, for assaulting Longfang after the Imperial Knight Captain had been separated from the rest of the attack force in the Iron Mountains. Leodus entered the Golden City's dungeons himself, asking Solrac why he'd attacked Longfang. The spider explained that it was to avenge his brother, Sezrac, who'd been killed by Longfang in Hunter Prison after being exposed as a spy for the Brotherhood of Vultures. Apologizing for Solrac's loss, Leodus had a discussion with the spider, who revealed that he was technically the heir to Spider Tribe leadership, and that, if the Empire of Balance helped him overthrow Skaulus Rax, he'd make peace between the Spider Tribe and the Empire. Leodus explained why such a plan was likely too impractical to work, partially due to the Spiders' alliance with the Scorpions. However, Leodus reassured Solrac that he'd at least consider the proposition. Soon after leaving the dungeon, Leodus received an exact vision of Solrac's ultimate fate, confirming that the spider's plan wouldn't come to fruition. After the Leopard armies in the Iron Mountains returned and announced that they'd victoriously defeated the Sabertoothes there, Leodus played a game of chess with Vamprah, explaining to a confused Lycor and Longfang that he and Vamprah were using the game to plan their next move in their situation with the Arachnid Alliance. Despite Leodus' earlier private vision, he and Vamprah met with their council (the highest ranking advisers from both tribes) about what to do with Solrac, eventually deciding to exile him to the Arctic, as was the punishment for his crime against the Leopards. Preparing materials for the spider to survive in the north, Leodus escorted Solrac out of the dungeon himself, sadly wishing the spider luck for where he was going, phrasing it in a way that made Solrac think the leopard was talking about his exile, rather than his death. Arachnid Alliance—Empire of Balance War Vamprah, Leodus, and their council reconvened for Solrac's exile ceremony, in a courtyard outside the main city. There, Leodus read the terms of Solrac's exile from an ancient scroll to make it official. However, the Arachnid Alliance attacked the city just then, as Leodus had foreseen. The attack interrupted Solrac's exile ceremony, and explosions blew smoke through the courtyard, allowing Solrac to slip away. Leodus and the other Imperial leaders quickly prepared for battle, mobilizing the Vulture and Leopard armies to combat the invasion of the Spiders and Scorpions. After a long battle, the Imperial forces won out, and pushed the Arachnid Alliance armies into retreat before the attackers could make it into the Golden City. This was partially on account of the arachnid forces at the valley having weaker leadership, due to their primary leaders not being present. Victory Banquet Soon after the Imperial armies returned to the Golden City, a scorpion wearing a Fire Wing Harness arrived, seeking an audience with Leodus, who met with him outside the Golden Castle. Seeing that the scorpion, Scordon Freeman, was obviously associated with the Phoenix, Leodus gave him the exact location of the Phoenix Islands, answering the silent request. Soon after Freeman left the city, the Tigers arrived, and Titus announced to Leodus that the Fire Tribes had successfully purged the Ice Hunters from the south. Leodus explained that there were still Ice Hunters in Southernfell, the Outlands, Minor Tribes territory, and the underground. Nevertheless, Leodus praised the Tigers for their efforts, and held a feast in the Golden Hall to celebrate the Empire's and Fire Tribes' victories against the Ice Hunters and Arachnid Alliance thus far. After the feast, Leodus and Vamprah agreed that they needed to expand Imperial territory if they were to continue fighting the hunters and arachnids, so the Brotherhood of Vultures claimed much of the southern Arctic, as the Leopard Tribe claimed more of the Iron Mountains. Before departing from the Valley of Balance himself, Titus asked Leodus for advice on which location in the south the Tigers should attack the Ice Hunters. Leodus suggested the Minor Tribes HQ, since he heard it was being attacked by the Sabertooth Navy at the moment. After the Tigers left, Leodus held another meeting with Vamprah, discussing the current state of affairs. Battle of The Grassy Plains Soon after the meeting, Leodus led the Leopard Army into battle with the Arachnid Alliance, wanting to prevent the enemies from claiming territory in Chima's western plains. A large battle ensued between the Imperial and Arachnid Alliance forces, and Leodus became separated from his forces during the fight. Surrounded by five spiders, including Skaulus and Stannis Rax themselves, in a small forested part of the plains, Leodus realized that the arachnids had been baiting the leopards in order to isolate and kill their king. Despite being exhausted at that point, Leodus fought on, killing three of the spiders by himself, before finally being felled by Skaulus and his son. Leodus was found and rescued by the Imperial Knights before the spiders could deal a killing blow, and the Arachnid Alliance forces retreated, leaving the war at, essentially, a stalemate. Out-of-Body Experience Unconscious and near death, Leodus was taken by Longfang to the Golden City's hospitals, where he was put on life support. There, Leodus woke up as an invisible spirit, and explained to Vamprah and the Leopard Druids that, despite being alive, his mind had temporarily left his body. Realizing that his current state could be useful, Leodus' spirit flew to the Northern Outland Mountains, where he'd permitted Lycor to hunt the fugitive Lyrix. Seeing Lycor working with Senix to fight Malgus and Lyrix, before the combatants were scattered by a bombardment from Skaulus Rax's Stinger-copter, Leodus spoke to Lycor, telling him that Senix was Tenebrae, and revealing Senix's plan to stop the Elemental Balance from being restored. After hearing this, Lycor stabbed Senix from behind. As Senix stumbled toward the lava pit created by the destroyed Fire Wing Harness, Leodus spoke to him. The Leopard King revealed that he'd foreseen this happening, and that finally killing Tenebrae had been Lycor's destiny all along. Senix then let himself fall into the lava. Returning to Leadership After being fully healed by the Leopard Druids, Leodus regained consciousness in his body, and returned to his and Vamprah's throne room. Appearance, Gear, and Traits Appearance: (TBA) '''Weapons and Gear: '''A double-bladed sword. On blade is red and channels basic control over fire (but only when Leodus plugs fire chi), and the other blade is blue and has basic control of ice. This sword represents the balance of Fire and Ice that Leodus keeps. He also has a fire crossbow, a royal shield, and a basic spell book. '''Personality (Pre-Empire of Balance): '''Leodus is undoubtedly a protagonist, but as he walks the line between the two prime elements, he is slightly more morally grey than the Phoenix and Tiger leaders. He keeps his tribe safe at all costs, even if it means utilizing the element that the other two Fire Tribes are against. Leodus is also wise and artistic; he painted the mural in his throne room himself. However, Leodus has flaws; he is still plagued by the memory of his best friend (the original Vulture leader) being assassinated by Icestrike, and of himself not being able to save his friend. Despite knowing that he didn't have a choice, Leodus is also not proud of exiling the Vultures and Ice Bears to the north and cursing them, especially since he used to be allies with the vultures, and Leodus wishes he could've been able to negotiate for peace instead. Nevertheless, Leodus pushes all his flaws and emotions aside so he can focus on leading his tribe and putting his species first and foremost. Quotes (TBA) Trivia * Leodus' theme song: Category:Protagonist Category:Leader Category:Fire/Fire Chi Category:Ice/snow Category:All Articles